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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tube · hand · rash · charge · spell · cold · foot · wax

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. cold — an illness
  5. charge — electricity
  6. tube — the underground
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. cold — not warm
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. charge — a price
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. foot — a measure
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. spell — letters
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — a series
  23. charge — in control
  24. tube — a container

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com